All I Knew Was That Darling, I Loved You
by lovelydapperdarren
Summary: Kurt Hummel thought he had everything figured out. He'd moved to New York, gone to school, and had a promising career ahead of him. But when Blaine, his new neighbor, moves in, his world is turned upside down and suddenly he's not sure about anything.
1. New Neighbors

Kurt winced as the door to the apartment down the hall slammed shut and a drunk couple stumbled around, leaving the party to do _god knows what_. He winced again as someone from inside the apartment turned the music up past its already insane volume. He grabbed the extra pillow from next to where he lay and smashed his face into it, holding it so that it covered his ears. He had an important business presentation to attend in the morning and he needed his beauty sleep. Kurt Hummel could not get up in front of the room of executives at one of the country's top fashion companies to pitch his idea for his first clothing line looking like a zombie.

He already knew he was going to hate this new neighbor, whatever his name was- he couldn't be bothered to remember, and this guy had lived in the building for a possible total of fourteen hours. "That's got to be a new record…" Kurt mumbled to himself. He had passed by the apartment that morning and it had still been empty, quiet, and peaceful, just like it had been for the many months since the last occupant moved out. Just how he liked it. When he arrived home that afternoon, however, there was a major difference. Music had been playing from a stereo system set up in one corner of the apartment and a cardboard box held the door open. A group of men who looked to be in their mid-20s, near his age, but acted like they were still teenagers, danced in and out of, as well as around, the apartment and sang in perfect harmony as they started unpacking the new occupant's stuff.

Kurt reflected back on the scene from earlier, trying to remember if the group had indicated which man the apartment now belonged to. He really hoped it wasn't all… five, perhaps? of them. Kurt had moved to New York City after high school, like he had always dreamed, and had attended NYU with Rachel. The two had shared a small apartment (a special gift from her two dads) but a year after graduating, Kurt felt it was time to be on his own; he had gotten his own apartment, where he had lived for the past three years. He had always enjoyed the peaceful environment of the building (if any place in New York City could be described as peaceful). There was no way he was letting some rowdy guys ruin that for him.

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><p>After putting up with this stupid music at increasingly obnoxious volumes and the sounds of drunken laughter and hook-ups for another 45 minutes, he had reached his limit. He didn't even care who saw him in his old, faded McKinley High School sweatpants (that he would never be caught wearing in public) as he stormed out of his apartment, down the hall, and began beating on the door to apartment 7B. A few seconds of knocking took place before a smiling blond guy opened the door, a red plastic cup in hand.<p>

"Hey, man, you here for the party? Come on in!" He motioned for Kurt to come inside, but Kurt just crossed his arms over his chest and slipped into full-bitch mode, giving him a tired glare.

"I am not coming to join this insane party, I'm here to try to put an end to it! Is this your apartment?"

The blond boy smiled, obviously slightly drunk, and threw an arm around Kurt's shoulders; he nearly spilled whatever concoction was in his cup as he spun Kurt towards the kitchen. "Come on, dude. Join us!"

"You didn't answer my question," Kurt said as he pulled away, once again glaring.

"Sorry, man. No, this isn't my apartment. My friends and I were helping an old buddy move in today and when we finished we wanted to celebrate! I'm Jeff, by the way," Jeff offered a slight smile, obviously uncomfortable under Kurt's heavy stare.

"JEFF! Duuuude!" A brunet boy slurred from across the room, waving an old record in the air. "You 'member when we auditioned for the Warblers and both sang this song?" He laughed, turning back to what looked like a very extensive record collection. Jeff nodded, a smile crossing his face at the memory as he turned back to Kurt, who delicately raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not meaning to forget or neglect my original intentions for coming over here, but did he say you two auditioned for the Warblers? As in the Glee club from that private school in Westerville, Ohio?"

"Yeah!" Jeff's entire face lit up at Kurt's connection. "Dalton," he paused. "How did you know that?"

Kurt snorted as he remembered his junior year of high school and how they had competed against the Warblers. "I'm from Ohio, actually. I went to McKinley, in Lima? I'm pretty sure we beat you in the show choir competition back during my junior year."

"If I recall correctly, we _tied_," an African-American man emphasized, suddenly appearing next to Jeff. "Don't mind me, just getting Wes another drink," he pointed to an Asian looking man leaning against the back of the couch, trying to hit on a couple girls and rolled his eyes. "Hi, I don't think we've met. I'm David, are you a friend of Jeff's?" he turned and extended a hand to Kurt, giving him a genuine smile to accompany his questioning glance.

"Kurt. Pleasure. No, I actually live in the apartment next door and couldn't sleep due to this damn noise coming from right down the hall," Kurt winced as the words left his mouth. These people were really friendly; it made him feel bad for wanting to yell at them so badly. "So, is this your apartment or…" Kurt started, but trailed off as Jeff shook his head in response for David.

"No, I live a few blocks away actually. I was just here today with Jeff, Wes, and Nick," he waved his hand in the direction of each man as he said their name, the last being the drunk guy with the records, "helping a really good pal move in. We all live in the city, but he's just moved here from Chicago so we wanted to make sure he got situated well. And by situated, we obviously mean trashing his new apartment and pissing off all his neighbors. Sorry about that. Speak of the devil!" David smiled at someone behind Kurt, motioning for him to turn around, before continuing. "This is our friend and the proud owner of this lovely apartment…"

Kurt turned around, prepared to bitch to his new neighbor about his lack of control over his friends, but was met with the most gorgeous pair of hazel eyes and most sincere smile he had ever seen in his life.

"Hi, I'm Blaine Anderson."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Hey, guys! This is a new fic I had an idea for. It came out of my insomniatic brain. I know this first chapter is short, but don't worry- there's a LOT more coming soon :) This is the first fic I've actually fully written and planned on letting people read, so I really hope everyone enjoys it. Also, it's rated M because there will be (an attempt at) smut in later chapters. If that's not your cup of tea, I understand, and thanks anyway!


	2. What is this feeling, so sudden and new?

**A/N:** Okay. I had a lot of ideas for this story, specifically one scene that will come up in the next chapter, but suddenly they all seem stupid. I hope I don't disappoint, though. Please let me know what you're thinking so far!

Glee belongs to Ryan Murphy and all the lovely people at FOX.

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><p>Kurt stood there for a moment, like a big idiot, with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. <em>You aren't allowed to be this gorgeous; I'm supposed to hate you! <em>Kurt yelled in his head. Blaine tried to stifle a laugh and Kurt suddenly worried he'd accidentally spoken his thoughts out loud.

"I promise I won't bite, I'm nice! You don't have to look so scared! Or am I misreading this? Is it my dashing good looks and undeniable charm that has you in shock?" Blaine winked and gave Kurt another one of his genuine, beautiful smiles. Kurt turned his head as an unmistakable blush crept up his face and cleared his throat. Something about how smug this Blaine character was really grated on Kurt's nerves, even if he was absolutely dreamy, and before he knew it, he was going into an angry rant, fueled by lack of sleep and his mixed emotions.

"Your party is obnoxious. It's really disrespectful to blare this god-awful music at earsplitting volumes in the middle of the night, party or no party. And for the record, you and your friends may be celebrating you moving in here, but NO ONE else who lives in the building, or on the entire block for that matter, is. So if you would be SO kind," Kurt glanced around the shocked faces of the trio gathered in the kitchen as he continued with his rant "turn the goddamn music off so some of us responsible citizens with jobs can get some sleep. Thank you and goodnight."

Kurt turned on his heel and paraded out of the apartment with his head held high, making sure the door slammed behind him loudly, before slipping down the hallway quickly to his own apartment. He leaned back against the door, making it close and slowly slid to the floor, dropping his head towards his knees. "Kurt Hummel, what was that?" he spoke aloud, then thought to himself, _They were so friendly! You could have made some new friends, but no. _He was waging an internal conflict, completely hating himself for the unnecessary rudeness, yet proud of himself for actually doing something about what had been bothering him… and telling off Blaine. "God, who does he think he is?" Kurt spat, standing up and sulking into the living room, where he shuffled through a stack of magazines, not really sure what to do with himself, before retreating to his bedroom. He flopped down on the bed and realized he really couldn't stand his new neighbor.

Through his fuming, Kurt didn't even notice the sudden loss of the music's thumping bass or, a few moments later, the soft knock at the door to apartment 7C.

* * *

><p>Blaine had felt something similar to faint recognition stir inside of him at the sight of his new neighbor, but he couldn't place where it came from. He also noticed the unmistakable skip of his heartbeat when he had first locked eyes with this gorgeous man, glancing into those beautiful blue-green eyes. Blaine had never been very good with romance. He had never believed in love at first sight or any of those romantic clichés, either. But in that moment, he could have sworn he'd never felt such a strong connection to someone before. And then he opened his mouth and ruined everything. His attempt at flirting had obviously done nothing, except completely piss this guy off. Blaine watched with sad eyes as he went off on him before storming away.<p>

"Nice going, Blaine," David mocked.

"David, who was that?" Blaine hadn't moved, his eyes were still locked on the door, hoping this man would come back so he could apologize profusely for the ridiculous party, for his friends, for everything.

"That, my friend, was your neighbor. Kurt something. I don't think he told me his last name, actually," David paused, trying to remember if it had come up in the conversation before shrugging his shoulders and walking off, back to where Wes was still trying to woo a few giggling girls.

"Kurt came over here to ask us to turn the music off, but I kind of invited him in and tried to start a conversation," Jeff spoke up, looking at Blaine with an expression that was difficult to read. "So, um. I'm gonna go talk to Nick. Or something." The boy bounced off, still clutching his red plastic cup.

Blaine let out a sigh and ran a hand through his un-gelled curls. He hadn't been expecting this party and frankly, he agreed with Kurt. It was loud, disrespectful, and made a terrible first impression. But it was a nice gesture on his friends' part, trying to welcome him to his new home. But still. Coming to a resolute decision, Blaine pointedly made his way to the stereo and shut off the music before turning to face the majority of the room's occupants. "Not trying to ruin the fun, guys, but we've had some complaints about noise and I don't want to get kicked out of my apartment in the first 24 hours, so I'm calling this party off. Thanks for coming, but you all really need to go."

After making his speech, he set off on his second mission. Finding Kurt. He figured he could trust his friends to get everyone out of the apartment without him, and he had to make a formal apology. It dawned on him he had no idea which apartment Kurt lived in, but he knew it was next to his so that ruled out a lot of contenders. He exited his own apartment and turned toward the door to apartment 7A.

Tentatively, Blaine knocked on the door and was greeted by a smiling blonde teenager. "Well, hi, there. May I help you with something?" her eyes travelled along the length of his body, two inquisitive, shining jade orbs, before they settled on his eyes, her nose crinkling. "You're gay, aren't you? Damn it." She let out a soft laugh as Blaine looked at her, completely baffled.

"Whaa...?" He wasn't even sure how to respond to the girl. He looked down at his outfit, a plain, fitted gray t-shirt with a red and white unbuttoned plaid shirt thrown over, and an old pair of jeans he hadn't bothered to change out of after finishing moving his stuff into his new place.

"I have awesome gaydar. It's my hidden talent. I can tell anybody's sexuality with 97% accuracy. And no, it's not your outfit. I just KNOW. So am I right?" She smiled even more as Blaine nodded his head. "I'm Radley Grayce Lennox and you're the guy who moved into 7B, right? Sorry I'm talking so much, apparently it's annoying, that's what my sister tells me, but I have a thing about rambling. And reading people- I do that well."

Blaine just nodded, chuckling. He liked this girl, but he couldn't get distracted for too long. "Radley, it's nice to meet you, I'm Blaine. Yeah, I'm your new neighbor and I'll really love to continue this later but right now I have to do something, find someone. Which apartment does Kurt… umm…" he faltered, not sure of the man's last name but hopeful Radley knew some of the buildings occupants.

"Hummel. Kurt Hummel. Yes, sir, I do. He lives in apartment 7C! Hey, he's gay, too! Why, were you going to hook up with him? Damn, boy, you move fast. Wait, shit, that was rude. Fuck. Sorry! Sometimes I don't have a filter!" She offered an apologetic smile as Blaine grabbed her hands to stop her talking.

"Thank you, Radley, I hope I see you again soon," he enthused with a smile, before beginning his quest back towards Kurt's apartment.

"BLAINE, you didn't answer my question. You two gonna fuck or what?"

He shook his head in disbelief at the outspoken girl, a strong feeling growing inside him that even if Kurt hated him, he'd have one friend close by.

* * *

><p>Blaine softly knocked on Kurt's door, holding his breath in anticipation. He really hoped he was still awake so that they could talk tonight and maybe straighten everything out. Also, he didn't want to wake him up and risk making him even angrier. When no answer came, he let out a long sigh and shut his eyes, leaning his forehead against the door. He brought his fist up and knocked again, with a little more force.<p>

Kurt jolted up in bed, where he'd been half-asleep already, at the sound of knocking. His brain registered the silence around him otherwise, meaning the party must have been brought to an end. Reaching over, he turned on the light beside his bed and stood up, contemplating whether he should answer the door or try to go back to sleep. The knocking picked up again, a little louder, so he grumpily shuffled out of his bedroom and to the door. He looked out the peephole and saw a mass of black curls. _Who is this?_ He couldn't help but wonder as he unlocked the door and began to open it. In the split-second between turning the doorknob and actually fully opening the door, it hit him. It was Blaine. He wanted to scream at himself to lock the door, go crawl back in bed, and ignore the boy. But his body betrayed him and continued to open the door.

Blaine looked at him, slightly shocked, and stuttered a bit, unsure of how to begin. "K-Kurt. Look. Um, I… Well…"

"Go away."

"No, Kurt, I really need to… Well, I want to say… I feel like…"

"If you're going to stand in my doorway and stutter all over yourself at 2 in the morning, feel free. But I'm certainly not sticking around to hear it," Kurt told him and began to shut the door.

"No!" Blaine cried, throwing his hand out to catch the door. "Kurt, I wanted to apologize for the party earlier."

"Good. Goodnight." And with that, Kurt closed the door, locked it, and returned to his bed, happy to continue with his sleep.

* * *

><p>Blaine couldn't believe it. Kurt was so rude. Had that whole spiel over at his apartment been an "in-the-heat-of-the-moment" rant or was it seriously how he was all the time? Was he some rude, arrogant, egotistical neighbor that Blaine would have to put up with for months? Because that certainly did NOT sound like something fun. Maybe Blaine had really bad judgment, because Kurt had seemed like someone he had a connection with.<p>

"Hey, man, sorry about the party. We didn't think it would make you mad…" Wes apologized, patting him on the shoulder as he walked back into his apartment and sank down onto the couch.

"No, it was a nice gesture. Appreciate it, guys… I'm just really tired from a long day and irritated. I wish you got to meet your neighbors before you committed to the apartment." Blaine fell over sideways, burying his face into a pillow. Nick came up, sitting on the arm off the couch nearest his head, and affectionately patted him like a dog.

"There, there, Blaine-y. It's okay." He could feel Blaine rolling his eyes as he attempted to swat his hand away without raising his head.

"So, what exactly happened? If you don't mind me asking…" David questioned in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, fill us in, Blaine," Jeff added.

"Later. I promise." Blaine lifted his head up, then rolled onto his back. "We'll go to dinner tomorrow… or something. Now, can you guys just get out?" He cast an apologetic look at his closest friends and they all understood. They bid their goodbyes and headed out in pairs, Jeff and Nick going first, closely followed by David and Wes.

Blaine grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and curled into a ball, telling himself everything was okay and that tomorrow was a new day, filled with new opportunities.

* * *

><p>Kurt tossed and turned in his bed, unable to come anywhere near sleep. He was such an asshole. He should have just accepted Blaine's apology and tried to become friends. But he couldn't do it. And deep down, he knew the exact reason why. When he had first set eyes on Blaine, he had felt a connection. His heart had fluttered madly in his chest and his stomach had filled goddamn hummingbirds, not just butterflies.<p>

He had always been unsuccessful in the love department. In high school, any guy he even considered was straight but he had high hopes for finding a boyfriend once he moved to New York. He had, in fact, found a boyfriend. He had found several boyfriends over the years. But each relationship ended in heartbreak or fizzled out. Kurt had slowly closed himself off from love, deciding to focus on a career instead. That was more important, anyway. But when he saw Blaine, it was different. No other man had ever made him feel the way Blaine had made him felt in those few seconds.

So, as he lay in bed restlessly, he let his thoughts wander briefly to Blaine. And as they did, his stomach clenched in fear at the way someone could walk into his life and have such a sudden effect. It scared him, and he couldn't let anyone mess up what he had in store for the future.

Kurt knew he had been terrible to Blaine. Kurt knew he had come off as rude. Kurt knew he had made a bad first impression. Kurt knew Blaine probably hated him and that made him incredibly sad. It not only made him sad, it nearly caused him to break down. But he knew he couldn't. That was the exact reason why he couldn't let Blaine in. Because he had to be strong and he had to be strong on his own. And if there was anything like love at first sight, this crazy thing he was overcome with, he would have to learn to ignore it or manifest it into hate.

So as Kurt drifted to sleep, he felt a little bit better with himself for justifying his behavior, but a whole lot worse because thoughts of Blaine were all he could see.

* * *

><p>After such a long, sleepless night, Kurt woke up 45 minutes late.<p>

"FUCK!" Kurt screamed, yanking the covers off and jumping out of bed. He had to shower, find the perfect outfit, get his presentation together for his meeting, and get to the offices 25 blocks away… all in under an hour.

He succeeded in showering, getting dressed, and having his morning cup of coffee in record time. He had to forfeit his morning moisturizing routine, but he figured one day wouldn't kill him. He'd just schedule a facial at the great spa Rachel always gushed about and everything would be fine. Kurt grabbed his folder with his important documents for the day's meeting and stuffed them in his bag, along with his laptop. Doing one last mirror check and cringing at his reflection, he burst out of his apartment, locking the door behind him and booking it for the elevators. Of course, he would be stuck waiting forever. Just as he was about to give up and take the stairs, a ding sounded, signaling the elevator's arrival. The doors opened and Kurt jumped inside, hastily pressing buttons.

Right as the doors began to close, a figure appeared, throwing a hand out to stop them and walking on. Kurt looked up and immediately realized his bad day was just going to keep getting worse. Of all people to join him on the elevator, it would be Blaine fucking Anderson.

Blaine looked up, met his gaze, and rolled his eyes before turning his back to Kurt. Kurt didn't care though; at least he didn't have to make small talk. They were passing the 3rd floor when the elevator car came to a stop. Both men assumed someone was just joining them for the remaining ride down, but when the doors never opened, they began to get suspicious.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of gears grinding before coming to a halt.

"You've got to be kidding me." In that moment, Kurt wanted to beat his head against the wall. Blaine turned around, shooting him a worried glance.

"Fuck. This morning just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" Blaine drawled out sarcastically. Kurt stiffened at the sound of Blaine's voice, but relaxed slightly before responding.

" You have NO idea."

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><p><strong>AN**: happy!Klaine will be coming, I promise. Like I said, this story is kind of dumb. And I know this may seem improbable, with the way they act towards each other, but I don't know. I've had people that I instantly felt a connection to and I've had people I couldn't help but snap at when I met them, so it's possible, right? Again, let me know what you think! And feel free to message me on tumblr with any questions, suggestions, criticisms, whatever. :)


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